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REDLANDS: University to show documentary

This photo shows some of the thousands of Navajo and Mescalero driven from their homelands in northwestern and southern New Mexico and forced to walk to the Bosque Redondo reservation at Fort Sumner, N.M., more than 140 years ago.

The University of Redlands will host a screening of the documentary âSun Kissedâ on Wednesday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in Gregory Hall 161.

The film explores a rare genetic disorder called XP afflicting Navajo children at a much higher rate than the general population. Those affected with the disease burn, freckle and blister after minimal sun exposure and are at much greater risk for skin cancers. The disease has neurological implications and leaves the child developmentally delayed.

Filmed over three years, with unprecedented access to the Navajo community, âSun Kissedâ follows Dorey and Yolanda Nez as they bravely confront long-held tribal taboos and question the rebellious choices of their youth. Ultimately, their journey leads them to the shocking truth: Their children and other Navajo children are still paying the price for the American conquest of the tribe in the 1860s, a brutal campaign culminating in an almost-forgotten chapter in American history â" the Navajo âLong Walkâ of 1864.

Despite its importance as the defining moment in modern Navajo history and the beginning of their assimilation into American society, discussing the tragedy of the Long Walk remains a taboo topic within the Navajo community.

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